Bag closure



June 24, 1941. R. T..MOORE BAG cLbsuRE Filed Feb. 11, 1938 2 Sheets$heet l INVENTOR FOML 7.' 291% V MOO/PE ATTORNEY June 24, 1941. R. T. MOORE BAG CLOSURE 2' Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 11, 1938 I NVENTOR FOML T M0075 5% ATTORNEY Patented June 24, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BAG CLOSURE Royal T. Moore, Buffalo; N. Y., assignor to Consolidatedlackaging- Machinery Corporation, a corporation of New York Application February 11, 1938,-Serial No. 189,973

2 Claims.

My present invention relates to bag closures and, more particularly, to closures for paper bags adapted to contain relatively small quantities of material.

In the packaging of pulverulent materials, such as coffee or suganit is particularly desirable to form a closure which will be sift-proof. It is further desirable to form a closure which will effectively protect the contents from contact with the air or with moisture or other contaminating substances with which the air may be laden. It is further desirable to form a closure which will protect the contents from tampering. One form of closure which is admirably suited to achieve these desirable results is formed by folding the mouth portion of a paper bag upon itself and securing the folded portion to the upper surface of the bag by the use of adhesive. Closures of this type and machines upon which such closures may be formed are disclosed in United States Patent No. 2,094,061, and application Serial No. 150,907, filed June 29, 1937 by Luta L. Cundall, administratrix for the estate of Robert N. Cundall, inventor.

Closures of the type just' discussed must be destroyed in order to gain access to the contents of a package. While this is an advantage from the standpoint of protecting the contents from tampering, it presents disadvantages from the standpoint of packaging of certain materials. For example, coffee is frequently packaged in the form of whole beans and is furnished in such form to retail dealers. When the coffee is sold to a consumer, the package is opened and the coffee is ground to a desired degree of fineness. The coffee is then replaced in the package which must be closed for delivery to the consumer.

Packages of the type abovediscussed must be closed by the use of adhesive tape, string or the like and closures thus formed do not constitute a satisfactory type.

Another form of package which is widely used comprises a paper bag having a pliable metal strip attached adjacent-its mouth. These bags are filled, the mouth portions thereof are folded over and the pliable strip is bent into a position to hold the folds in place. Closures of this type may be opened and reclosed at will. Closures of this type are not satisfactory from the standpoint of sift-proofness or protection of the contents from contamination or tampering.

In the packaging of certain other materials as, for example, sugar or flour, it is desirable to sealed against contamination or tampering and which may be satisfactorily reclosed after breaking of the seal.

It is a-further object of my present invention to provide a package which may be sealed in a known manner upon machinery of known types and which will include a potential reclosing means.

It is a further object of thepresent-invention to provide a package having a closure which must be destroyed to gain access to the material therein and to provide such package with means for forming a satisfactory reclosure.

Other and further objects of my invention will become more apparent from a consideration of the following description taken in connection with the drawings accompanying and forming a part ofthe present specification.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 illustrates a filled container constructed according to my invention;

Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate the successive steps in the formation of a closure according to my invention;

Fig. 4 illustrates a completed package closed according to my invention;

Fig. 5 illustrates-the package of Fig. 4 opened for the removal of contents;

Fig. 6 illustrates one use of my novel potential reclosing means subsequent to the opening of the package;

Fig. -6A illustrates an alternative use of the same; i

Fig. 7 illustrates a filled container of modified form and constructed according to my invention; and

Fig. 8 illustrates a step in the formation of a closure upon the container shown in Fig. 7.

Similar characters of reference indicate similar parts throughoutv the several views.

' In Fig. 1 there is shown a flexible walled container II! which may comprise an ordinary gusseted paper bag. The bag l0 may be filled in a convenient manner to the level indicated at H. The portions of the'bag- Ill extending above the level II constitute an open mouth and comprise a front wall I2 and a rear wall l3. The rear wall l3 may include the usual side seam I l. While for purposes of illustration I have referred to the walls l2 and I3 as front and rear respectively, it will be understood that such walls are substantially identical in appearance and function and that no limitation of my invention is to be gathered from such identification. The open mouth of the bag l further comprises side walls l5 and I6 which may be gusseted, as shown in Fig. l, for the formation of one particular type of closure to which my invention may be adapted.

In the formation of a closure upon a bag of the type thus far described the side walls l5 and It may be tucked inwardly and portions thereof pressed downwardly into contact with the surface ll of the bag contents. The front and rear walls It! and I3 may be collapsed upon themselves and upon the tucked side walls i5 and i6. Portions of the walls l2 and iii are pressed downwardly upon the surface It and upon the downwardly pressed portions of the side walls It: and It. The open mouth of the bag is then in the flattened form illustrated in Fig. 2 and extends upwardly from the level it, as shown in said figure.

Thecollapsed and flattened mouth may be creased or bent along a line H extending horizontally intermediate the top ofv the contents and the open edge of the mouth. The upper portion is of the mouth is the portion l9 as illustrated in Fig. 3. A suitable adhesive may be applied to the shoulder or upper surface of the bag toward which the portion I8 has been bent. The collapsed and folded mouth may then be v folded in the same direction as the fold along line I! into contact with the adhesive 20 for the formation of a sealed closure as illustrated in Fig. 4.

The closure thus far described may be opened by pulling upwardly upon the folded mouth to break the seal formed by the adhesive 20. It is obvious that the closure thus far described cannot be reclosed without the use of additional adhesive, adhesive tape, string or the like. It is further obvious that a closure of this type cannot be opened and reclosed without detection.

'According to my invention, I provide a means which does not contribute to the formation of the original sealed closure but which is attached to the bag and is potentially available for the convenient formation of a neat and satisfactory reclosure subsequent to breaking of the adhesive seal.

A preferred form of means for accomplishing this result comprises a pliable strip ft of metal or other suitable material attached to one of the walls of the bag. The strip 2i is preferably of such length as to'extend beyond the marginal edges of the wall to which it is attached in order that the extended ends 22 thereof shall be available for the formation of a reclosure. The strip 2 I is preferably so located upon a bag wall as not to interfere with the formation of a sealed closure, When a sealed closure of the type shown in the drawings is to be used, it is preferred to attach the strip 2| to the front wall 12 of the bag in a location such that the strip 2! will become enclosed within the fold formed along line H. In this location, the strip 25 will not become embedded in the adhesive 26 and the major portion thereof will be concealed when the original sealed'closure is formed. The strip 2! may be so located as to fall either above or below the fold line ll. For purposes which will more clearly hereinafter appear, it is preferred to locate the strip El above the fold line IT, as shown in Fig. 2.

The formation and use of a. closure embodying the preferred form of my invention will now be described. A bag having a pliable strip 2i attached to its front face and adjacent the open mouth is filled in any convenient manner. The mouth portion of the bag extending above the level of the contents is then collapsed upon itself into the flattened condition illustrated in Fig. 2. The flattened mouth is then folded along line H, adhesive 2D is applied and the folded mouth is folded and pressed into contact with the adhesive as above described. The protruding ends 22 of the strip 25 may then be bent downwardly into an out-of-the-way position in contact .with the side walls of the bag as shown in Fig. l. The bending of the ends 22 may be manually effected or may be effected by suitable mechanical means added to or incorporated in a bag closing machine of any type adapted to form a sealed closure.

The protruding ends 22 may be otherwise bent into an out-of-the-wayposition, as, for example, the ends may be tucked into the hollows formed by the inwardly tucked side walls or they may be bent upwardly and over upon the top of the bag mouth.

The package, as shown in Fig. 4, may be opened by breaking the adhesive seal 20 and unfolding the mouth of the bag, as shown in Fig. 5. For this operation it is unnecessary to bend or otherwise disturb the pliable strip ZI. After the contents have been removed and replaced or after a portion of the contents have been removed, the package may be conveniently reclosed by folding the bag mouth along the fold lines already formed therein during the original closing operation. The protruding ends 22 of the strip 2! may then be bent over the top of the bag into the position shown in Fig. 6 in which position the bag will be held reclosed in a manner simulating the original closure. If so desired, the ends 22 may be bent downwardly and tucked under the shoulder of the bag into the hollow formed by the inwardly tucked gussets as shown in Fig. 6A. If a substantial portion of the contents of the bag has been removed, the bag may be'folded or rolled in any convenient manner and secured in closed position by bending the ends 22,

From a consideration of Fig. 6, it may be seen that the attachment of the strip 2! to the upper portion E8 of front wall If of the bag mouth is of advantage. When the package has been opened and reclosed, as shown in Fig. 6, the strip 2| serves to secure the mouth portions 3 and i9 against relative movement and thus tends to hold the folded mouth down upon the top of the bag to present an appearance simulating that of the original sealed closure. It will be apparent that this same result may be obtained by attaching the strip 2! to the upper portion it of the rear wall l3 of the bag mouth. Since the strip 2|, in this position, will become embedded in the adhesive 20, it will be necessary to so secure the strip it to the wall l3 that there will be no danger of its becoming detached therefrom when the seal 2ft is broken.

It will be obvious that the strip 2! may be attached to the front wall I! or to the rear wall 1 I! in the lower portion is of the bag mouth. When the strip 2! is attached to this portion of the front wall If, the strip it will not become embedded in the adhesive 20 upon formation of theoriginal sealed closure and will be substantially concealed as above discussed. When the strip if is attached to the lower portion I9 of the rear wall l3 it will lie in a fullyexposedpm sition on the top and outside of the sealed closure upon the formation thereof, as above described.

When the strip 2! is attached to the bag in either of the positions discussed in the preceding paragraph, its use as a reclosing meansdiflers somewhat from the use illustrated in Fig. 6. Since the strip is attached to the uppermost ply of the folded reclosure, the ends 22 must be bent downwardly to engage some or all of the plies lying thereunder. The ends 22 may be conveniently bent under the portion of the front wall H which lies on top of the bag. contents and into the recess formed by the inwardly tucked side walls l5 and I6 as shown in Fig. 6A.

When a substantial quantity of the bag contents has been removed, the bag mouth may be rolled or folded in any convenient manner and secured in closed position by bending the ends 22 of the strip 2i.

In Fig. '7, I have shown a filled bag of modified form to whichflny invention may be advantageously adapted. In the packaging of certain commodities the volume of a unit weight is subject to variations. For example, coffee may be packaged in bean form or ground to various degrees of fineness. The volume of a unit weight of each form of coffee will differ from that of all the other forms. In orderto form closures of uniform appearance upon bags of uniform size irrespective of variations in the volume of the contents, it has been proposed to provide bags of uniform size ample to accommodate the sreatest volume of contents. The bass are filled and the mouths thereof are collapsed as above described. The-bag mouths are trimmed at a predetermined distance above the level of the contents in order to remove any has material in excess of that required to form closures of desired efficiency and appearance. sures of machines and methods for forming A closures of this type, reference is made to the- For disclo .According to my invention a pliable strip is attached to a wall of the bag at such a distance from the edges of the bag mouth that the excess material may be trimmed, as above set forth, without disturbing the strip. To this end, the

strip should be spaced from the upper edge of In Fig. 7, I have shown a strip 2| attached to the front wall l2 of a bag lit. The strip 2i is positioned according to the principles set forth in the preceding paragraph. In Fig. 8 the bag month has been collapsed and aportion W of excess bag material has been trimmed from the bag mouth. The width of the excess material W and the distance between the strip ti and the trimmed edge of the bag mouth as seen in Fig. 8 will vary in accordance with the variations in volume of material placed within the bag. For the purposes of my invention, the strip 2! may be positioned anywhere above or below the fold line I1 within the areas Iii or l9. In the form illustrated, the strip 2! is so posi tioned as to fall within the area i8 of the front wall i2. While this position is preferred for the reasons outlinedabove in connection with Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, it will be understood that the strip 2| may be positioned to fall within the area I8 or 19' and upon the front wall I! or upon the rear wall L3 as desired.

After the bag mouth has been collapsed and trimmed, as shown in Fig. 8, the closure is completed, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and the reclosing strip 2| is used, as described above in connection with Figs. 5 and 6.

While the above detailed description of specific forms of my invention has been made in order to comply with the patent statutes, it is comprising a flexible container having a quantity,

of material therein and having itsmouth collapsed, trimmed to a certain height above the plane of the top of the contents, and folded to form a closure; means securing id closure in closed position, said means co prising adhesive extending between said fold closure and the body of said bag; and a pliable substantially non-resilient strip secured to a fol ble portion of said closure in a position out of contact with said adhesive and removed from'that portion of said closure which is subjected to trimming.

2. As an article of manufacture a package comprising a flexible container having a quantity of material therein and having its mouth collapsed and folded upon itself to form a closure: means securing said folded portion in closed position, said means comprising a esive extend= ing between said folded portion nd the body of tially non-re-' said bag: and a pliable subs silient strip secured within said folded portion of said closure in a position out of contact vith said adhesive, said strip functioning as a poten tial reclosing element.

/ ROYAL 'r. MOORE. 

